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Minsk expresses concern over construction of nuclear waste site near border in Lithuania

Earlier, it was reported that Lithuania complained about the Belarusian NPP after Minsk decided to build it

MINSK, April 29. /TASS/. Belarus is concerned about the construction of a burial site for radioactive waste in Lithuania that’s near the border of the two countries, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"The construction of nuclear repositories in close proximity to the border of the Republic of Belarus and a long-term storage of irradiated nuclear fuel at a site without containment cannot but cause us legitimate concerns," the statement said.

Belarus said it invited Lithuania to hold talks about the issues that were raised by Minsk with respect to Lithuania’s nuclear projects.

The Foreign Ministry said Lithuania has serious difficulties with the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant and the associated management of nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Three new facilities were put into operation at the station: an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, a MI-1 facility for the extraction of solid radioactive waste and MI-2 and MI-facilities for the extraction of solid radioactive waste.

"All these works are carried out in secret and with disregard for the requirements of fundamental international documents in this area," the ministry said. It said Lithuania precludes IAEA officials from accessing the plant’s site and flouts the recommendations of EU regulators regarding the plant’s safety analysis.

It was earlier reported that Lithuania complained about the Belarusian NPP after Minsk decided to build it. The country's parliament resolved that the power plant was a "threat to the national security of the republic." Minsk guaranteed that the nuclear power plant complied with the highest safety standards.

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Belarus Lithuania

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